Merriam-Webster Adds “Selfie” & Other Social Media Terms To Dictionary

The English language still continues to evolve, and current buzz terms of the day are becoming part of our daily lexicon. Recognizing this, publishers Merriam-Webster earlier this week added a host of words that will be familiar to many to its Collegiate Dictionary.

Familiar social media terms such as selfie, hashtag, and tweep were added to the publication. Other words that have risen in prominence over the past few years that were added are crowdfunding, steampunk, and catfish – the last word related to the popular documentary and television show where folks are duped by people in the online dating world.

Food terms were also among the new additions, with Vietnamese staple dish Pho and weird but tasty Canadian dish Poutine getting their name in lights within the book. Merriam-Webster added over 150 words to the book for its eleventh edition, and has invited those on Twitter to join an ongoing conversation about the new words by using the hashtag #MW2014NewWords.

To see a sample of the new changes, follow this link. Let us know in the comments if Merriam-Webster missed any key words.